I thought I'd pruned back my four-year-old apple tree far enough in the first few years, but the branches are pathetically thin. Can I rescue it? With a perennial or shrub, you cut back to encourage bushy growth, but with an apple tree it is all about framework. In the first few years, you should select the main branches and let them thicken. Year one: pick four branches, reduce by half, remove the others altogether. Year two: pick four more branches, reduce all eight by half, remove the rest. Year three: cut back vigorous growths on the eight branches by half, cut side branches to four buds. And so on. To work out how best to wrest back control, try the RHS.

When my mother died last year, I inherited a potted cyclamen she had tended for years. It now looks wan. What can I do?Houseplant cyclamen are often bought for a blast of winter colour, then binned, so your mother did well to keep hers going. In the wild, cyclamen have adapted to their Mediterranean habitat by growing and flowering through autumn, winter and spring, then going dormant. Remembering this is the key. Keep it on a cool, bright window­ sill in winter, and water when dryish. Water from below, not into the pot, and pour off any excess after half an hour. When the leaves yellow in April, stop watering and move to a cool, dry spot outdoors; lie on its side to ensure the crown doesn't get wet. Pot into a larger pot over summer. In September, soak well to restart growth.